Works of Joseph Hall, Section 13 – Section 14
SECTION XIII. Concerning the diſtinction of Veniall and Mortall ſinnes.
PArdons doe both imply and preſuppoſe that knowne diſtinction of Mortall and Veniall ſinne, which neither hath God euer allowed, neither (whiles he gaineſayes it) will euer the Proteſtants: That there are certaine degrees of euill we both acknowledge and teach; ſo as we may here iuſtly tax the diſhoneſty and ſhameleſneſſe of Campion, Durcus, Coccius, and the Monkes of Burdeaux, who hauehave vpbraided vsus with the opinion of a certaine Stoicall and Iouinianiſh parity of ſinnes: yea, Bellarmine himſelfe hath already done this kinde office for vsus. Some offences are more hainous than other; yet all in the malignitie of their nature, deadly: As of poyſons, ſome kill more gently, and lingringly, others more violently and ſpeedily, yet both kill. Moreouer, if wee hauehave reſpect vntounto the infinite mercy of God, and to the obiect of this mercy, the penitent and faithfull heart, there is no ſinne, which (to borrow the word of Prudentius) is not veniall; but in reſpect of the Anomy or diſorder, there is no ſinne which is not worthy of eternall death. EueryEvery ſinne is a Viper; there is no Viper (if we regard the nature of the beſt) but kils whom ſhe bites; but if one of them ſhall haply light vponupon the hand of Paul, ſhe is ſhaked into the fire, without harme done: Let no man feare that harmefull creature euer the leſſe, becauſe he ſees the Apoſtle ſafe from that poyſon. So is ſinne to a faithfull man; Saint Iohns word is, All ſinne is (foreign) Tranſgreſsion of the Law; 1 Ioh. 3.4. Rom. 6.Saint Pauls word is, The wages of ſinne is death; Put theſe two together, and this conceit of the naturall pardon ableneſſe of ſin, vaniſhes alone.
Our Rhemiſts (ſubtill men) can no more abide this propoſition conuerted, than themſelues: All ſinne indeed (ſay they) is anomia, a tranſgreſſion of the Law; but eueryevery tranſgreſſion of the Law is not ſinne: The Apoſtle therefore himſelfe turnes it for vsus: All vnrighteouſneſſe (ſaith he) is ſin: But eueryevery (foreign) is vnrighteouſneſſe, ſaith Auſten vponupon the place. For the Law is the rule of righteouſneſſe; therefore the preuarication of the Law is vnrighteouſneſſe: Yea, their very owne word ſhall ſtop their owne mouth; for how is ſinne vniuocally diſtinguiſhed into Veniall and Mortall, if the Veniall be no ſinne? and the wages of eueryevery ſinne is death. That therefore which the Papiſts preſume to ſay, that this kinde of ſinne deſerues pardon, in it ſelfe (vnleſſe they will take the word merit, catachreſtically, with Stapleton:) And that which Bellarmine and Nauarus adde, that Veniall ſinnes are not againſt, but beſide the Law: and laſtly,foreign, &c. Fr. à Vict. ſumma ſacr. Poenitentiae nu. 100. p. 63. That which Franciſcus à Victoria writes, that a Biſhops bleſſing, or a Lords Prayer, or a knocke on the breaſt, or a little holy water, or any ſuch like ſlight receipt, without any other good motion of the heart, is ſufficient to remit Veniall ſinne, is ſo ſhamefully abhorring from all piety, and iuſtice, that theſe open bands, both of nature and ſinne, muſt be eternally defied of vsus. It is an old, and as true a ride,Decr. 23.4.4. eſt iniuſta, &c. Petr. Alag…nae Comp. Manual. Nauarri, p. 91. p. 267. p. 140. p. 191. p. 352. p. 100. Socr. l. 5.21. …aſineſſe of pardon giues incouragement to ſinne: And beſide, what maner of ſinnes doe they put in the ranke of Venials? Drunkenneſſe, adultery, angry curſes, or blaſphemies; couetouſneſſe yea, ſtealing, lying, curſing of parents, (horrible offences) ſhroud themſelues (with them) vnderunder this plauſible title of veniall; He muſt needs be ſhameleſly wicked that abhorres not this licentiouſneſſe. Surely Socrates the Hiſtorian prophecied (I thinke) of theſe men: There are ſome (ſaith he) that let goe whoredome as an indifferent matter, which yet ſtriue for an holy-day, as for their life. The ordinarie, and not ſlight Controuerſie (as Caſſander thinketh) of the name, nature condition, puniſhment of the firſt ſin,foreign. Originall. as Chryſoſtome calls it, I willingly omit; Neither doe I meddle with their Euangelicall perfection of vowes, nor the dangerous ſeruitude of their raſh and impotent Votaries, nor the incoueniences of their Monkerie: which yet are ſo great and many, that the elect Cardinals of Paul the third, doubted not with ioynt conſent to affirme, All the Orders of Couents we thinke fit to be aboliſhed; but, for the condition of that ſingle and ſolitary life, let that be done; which Caſsander, and Clingius the Franciſcan aduiſe, in this caſe; that is, Let all falſe conceit, and prepoſterous confidence bee remooued from it, that the truſt, which ſhould onelyonly be put in the merit of Chriſt, bee not placed vponupon theſe courſes: and let no man thinke, that hereby he deſerues righteouſneſſe, remiſſion, grace; and laſtly, (which I adde) remoue but idleneſſe, ſuperſtition, neceſſitie, from this kinde of life, and we doe not, we will not diſallow it: Neither doe we take our Colledges for any other than certaine ſacred (foreign) monaſticall Academies, wherein according to the precept of Pelagius the Pope, we may be maturely fitted for theſe holy ſeruices of God, and his Church: ſuch were the Monaſteries of the Ancient; inſomuch as Poſsidonius can witneſſe, that Saint Auſten, out of one little houſe,Poſſid. in vita Aug. ſent forth ten labourers into the harueſt of the Church.
SECTION XIIII. Concerning the Canon of the Scripture.
NOw, (leſt I be too tedious) it is time for mee, from theſe points, which doe directly concerne our ſelues, to haſten vntounto thoſe, which do more cloſely touch the Maieſtie of God, and doe, as it were, ſend plaine challenges into heauen. And thoſe do, either reſpect the Scripture which is his expreſſed word, or Chriſt which is his naturall and ſubſtantiall Word, or laſtly, the worſhip due vntounto his Name.
And firſt, the Scripture complaines iuſtly of three maine wrongs offered to it: The firſt, of addition to the Canon; The ſecond, of detraction from the ſufficiencie of it; The third, of hanging all the authoritie thereof vponupon the ſleeue of the Church; For of that corrupt Tranſlation of Scripture, which the Trent Diuines hauehave made onelyonly, and fully authenticall, I forbeare purpoſely to ſpeake; although it were, eaſie to ſhew (that which Reuchline, following the ſteps of Hierom, hath auerred) That the Hebrewes drinke of the Well head; the Greekes of the ſtreame,Hier. aduerſ. …eluidium. and the Latines of the puddle: neither will I ſo much as touch the iniurious inhibition of thoſe holy bookes, to the Laity. Who can endure a piece of new cloth to bee patched vntounto an old garment? Or what can follow whence, but that the rent ſhould bee worſe?I referre the reader for the citation of theſe to my diſſwaſiue from Popery. Who can abide, that againſt the faithfull information of the Hebrewes, againſt the cleere Teſtimonies of Melito, Cyril, Athanaſius, Origen, Hilary, Hierom, Ruffinus, Nazianzen, againſt their owne Doctors both of the middle, and lateſt age, ſix whole bookes, ſhould, by their fatherhoods of Trent, be vnderunder pain of a curſe imperiouſly obtruded vponupon God & his Church? Whereof yet, ſome propoſe to their Readers, no better than magicall iugglings, others bloudy ſelfe murders, other lying fables, and others heatheniſh …, not without a publike applauſe in the relation: Theſe indeed, Ca…, ingennouſly, as his faſhion is, (according to that he had learned of Hierome) would perſwade vsus to hauehave beene admitted onelyonly by the Ancients, into the Canon of Manners, not of Faith. And ſurely there be many precepts in Syracider, the counterfeit Salomon, and Eſdra…, which ſauour of excellent wiſedome; but I wonder what kinde of good manners can be learned from ſuch like hiſtories,Catech…eni. euen by thoſe Nouices, to whom Athanaſius bequeaths theſe bookes? Well may I ſay of theſe, as that Chian ſeruant of his Maſter, (which ſold his wine,Epith. l. 1. ſect. 5. foreign. Si quis l. Heſter, Dan, Baeruc, Eccl. Iudith, Tob. Macca. pro Canonicis non recip…rit, Anathema fit, ſect, 4. Apoc. vlt. and dranke his lees) while they hauehave good, they ſeeke for naught: But let theſe bookes (how queſtionable ſoeuer to Ephiphanius) be all ſacred, let them be (according to the meaning of the councell of Carthage, and of Auſten ſo oft cited, to this purpoſe) after Canonicall; yet what man or Angel dare preſume to vndertake to make them diuine? Wee know full well, how great impietie it is to father vponupon the God of heauen the weake conceptions of an humane wit; neither can we be any whit moued with the idle cracke of the Tridentine curſe, whiles we heare God thundring in our eares, If any man adde vntounto theſe words, God ſhall adde vntounto him the plagues written in this book.